Nets Said to Make Deal for Pierce and Garnett

The Nets’ deal for Paul Pierce, left, and Kevin Garnett will give the Celtics cap relief and future prospects, but it cannot be completed until July 10.

Barton Silverman / The New York Times

By HOWARD BECK

June 27, 2013

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, two almost certain Hall of Famers, are heading to Brooklyn in a blockbuster trade that could tip the balance of power in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets and the Boston Celtics agreed to the trade late Thursday night in the midst of the N.B.A. draft, which was largely overshadowed by the negotiations. The deal, which cannot be consummated until July 10 for salary-cap purposes, was confirmed by two people involved in the talks.

The teams completed the deal when Garnett agreed to waive his no-trade clause. In exchange, the Nets agreed to fully guarantee the $12 million he is owed in 2014-15.

The Celtics will receive Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans and Kris Joseph as well as three first-round draft picks, in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The Nets will obtain Garnett, Pierce and Jason Terry. Bogans, a free agent, will be sent to Boston in a sign-and-trade deal. An earlier version of the trade had Reggie Evans going to Boston.

Neither team would confirm the deal, although Nets General Manager Billy King broke into a wide smile when asked about it late Thursday at Barclays Center, the Nets’ home, where the draft was being held.

King’s news conference was ostensibly held to discuss the Nets’ draft pick, Duke’s Mason Plumlee, whom the Nets selected with the 22nd pick. He batted away a half-dozen questions about the trade but acknowledged it obliquely, saying: “At the time when it’s appropriate, I will address it if possible. But at this point in time, I can’t.”

Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ team president, also demurred when asked about the deal, telling Boston reporters, “I can’t talk about that.”

The trade thrusts the Nets squarely into contention in the East, with the size, experience and versatility to challenge the Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers and the Knicks. Pierce and Garnett will provide the defense and the tenacity that the Nets sorely lacked this past season, when they won 49 games but failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs. They join a lineup that already features three All-Star talents in Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez.

Garnett had preferred to finish his career in Boston, but the departure of Coach Doc Rivers opened the door for a trade, and the inclusion of Pierce, his close friend, made the deal palatable.

Details of the trade were first reported by Yahoo Sports.

In Pierce and Garnett, the Nets will also get a dose of locker-room leadership to support Jason Kidd, the team’s rookie head coach. Garnett, even at 37, remains one of the fiercest defenders in the league. Pierce is no longer an elite scorer, but he will not need to score much in a lineup with Williams, Johnson and Lopez.

The Celtics, who won the title in 2008, have been moving toward breaking up their core since their first-round playoff loss to the Knicks. They let Rivers out of his contract last week to join the Los Angeles Clippers, and they were prepared to send Garnett and Pierce there along with him until the N.B.A. vetoed the deal as a salary-cap violation.

For Boston, the trade with the Nets will provide a combination of cap relief and future prospects. The picks in 2016 and 2018 would be unprotected — and potentially quite valuable because Pierce and Garnett will most likely have retired by then. As part of a previous trade, the Atlanta Hawks have the right to swap picks with the Nets in 2014, so the Celtics would receive the lower of the two picks.

To make the deal work under salary-cap rules, the teams will have to wait until after July 1, when Pierce’s $15.3 million salary for next season becomes guaranteed. But the deal cannot be made official until July 10, after the league’s annual moratorium on signings and trades is lifted.

Pierce, 35, is under contract for just one more season, adding additional risk for the Nets, who will be under immense pressure to contend immediately. Garnett is under contract for two more seasons, at $12.4 million in 2013-14 and $12 million in 2014-15. Terry also has two years left on his contract, earning $5.3 million next season and $5.5 million in 2014-15.

When the deal goes through, the Nets’ payroll will skyrocket to nearly $93 million for just nine players. It could reach $100 million by the time they are done filling out the bench, which would trigger a luxury-tax hit of about $84 million — a record.

The deal will allow the Celtics to drop below the luxury-tax line for next season, but the real savings will come in 2014-15, when their payroll would drop to $49.4 million — $9 million below the current salary cap.

The draft itself was rendered an afterthought, as much as King tried to promote his selection of Plumlee, a 7-foot, 238-pound center from Duke, King’s alma mater. Plumlee could become the Nets’ primary backup to Lopez if Andray Blatche leaves as a free agent. With Humphries, Evans and Wallace heading to Boston, the Nets will need all the big men they can find.

Correction: July 2, 2013

An article on Friday about a trade between the Brooklyn Nets and the Boston Celtics erroneously included, in some editions, two players among those traded to Boston and omitted two who were part of the deal. Reggie Evans and Toko Shengelia are not being sent to Boston, but MarShon Brooks and Kris Joseph are.